


visitations

by bluhen



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, You Know When You've Met Countless Versions Of Yourself But Two Of Them Just Have Really Good Sweets, in which: internal conflict; external manifestations; nothing you could stop if you tried, the t rating is there because i dont know how to tag 'mp kind of beats up dom' so theres that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 11:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15000050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluhen/pseuds/bluhen
Summary: mad paradox visits the alternate selves he comes across wading through time every now and then.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [kicks my leg up] is there a point to these? do they make sense? maybe not, but god am i having a good time. basically this whole thing is a huge, self-indulgent headcanon dump, and me playing with the idea of multiple adds being canon, but in the sense that they truly are alternate timelines, and esper/paradox can flit between them at will thanks to his time and space traveling. i hope it’s at least as fun to read as it was to write.  
> the first chapter is mp visiting dbr, the second dom. "why are they so wildly different in tone?" oh, well, you know how it is,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im just havin fun here. also super interested in nasod armor so theres That Too

“So you've decided to stay with the land of the living today,” says Doom, and earns himself a hard scowl.

“Oh, you're so fucking funny.” Paradox retorts. Neither the words nor the scowl are as threatening as they should be, coming from a face so small and soft. 

“What's the special occasion?” Doom continues, ignoring Paras reaction. He was used to random visits from his counterpart at this point, and even more so his attitude. 

“There is none. I'm tired.” Paradox vanishes, and Doom hears a clattering outside his door. Fucks sake. 

“ _ GET OUT OF THERE _ ,” Doom calls through the workshop. It doesn't mean anything, and the sound of a door shutting too hard echoes.

By the time Doom gets to his “kitchen,” (can you call it that if it's just a space with a few cabinets and a small fridge?) Paradox has already downed three cookies out of a box in Dooms cabinet. He would wonder how he even knew they were there, but Paradox was himself but a… weirdo time traveller. Something in his mind just said  _ Of course he knew.  _ He tries not to think about how embarrassing it is to be caught having sweets.

“Those are mine, jackass.”

“Then they're mine, too. I'm you.”

“ _ Haha _ , smartass. Give those back.” He swings for the box, then blinks and Paradox is hanging from the ceiling. Doom groans. “I like those.”

“Hey, me too. We learn new things about each other every day, huh?” Paradox says, voice fading off at the end as he disappears into the tile. 

“Shut up, jaー _ WHERE EVEN ARE YOU _ ?!” Doom yells towards his ceiling, and gets a weak disembodied chuckle in response.

“Okay, fine then. I'm never buying chocolate again. You'll never be able to steal it from me again,  _ ever _ .”

The box of cookies is dropped on his head with a loud  _ thunk _ .

Doom catches it, of course, but not before flipping off the general area. Paradox appears in front of him soon after. “The other me makes his own chocolate. He's better than you.” He states matter-of-factly, and Doom growls. 

“You look like a brat and you are one, too. The full package!” Doom scowls. Paradox shrugs.

“I'm only honest. It's your fault you can't handle it.” 

God, everything this alternate him said pissed him off. “What do you want? You only ever come bother me when you want something.”

“I don't want anything. I have no reason to.” Paradox says. Then, “I said I was tired. Pestering you is a good break.” He knew it was pointless, but he allowed himself these things. Just every now and then.

“Good. Great. Make yourself at home then, or don't, not like I have a say in the matter.” Doom grumbles.

“The other me is less irritable too. But he's all smug and full of himself. You are too, but he's more annoying.” 

Doom doesn't want to deal with this. “I'm going to work.” 

“On what?”

“None of your business!”

“I'll just watch you anyway. You can't stop me.”

Something in Paras deadpan tone on those words makes Doom shiver. “Okay,  _ fine _ . Just don't, don't fucking, screw with anything.” He makes his way back to the workshop area, shutting the door  _ maybe _ a bit too strongly.

The chair tucked underneath his workbench scrapes loudly when he pulls it out. He scrambles around a drawer for a moment, grabbing a flat-ended screwdriver.

This part always sucks.

He breathes deep, bracing himself. Then, drives the end of it into a slit in the markings that'd be invisible to anyone unaware of its existence and pries it open. It wasn't like it  _ hurt _ , of course it didn'tーit just wasn't something he had ever been able to get used to, prying open his own flesh. No, it wasn't  _ really _ his flesh, but it looked enough like it that it freaked him out. 

“Oh.” Says a small voice leaning over the side of the bench that wasn't there five seconds ago.

“What.” 

“It comes open, like that?”

“It has to. I have to work on it somehow. What, you think it's freaky?”

“Why would I do that. You have working eyes, don't you?” 

Doom is almost offended, then glances at Paradox and remembers the glitching that shouldn't even be possible, blinding white on his shoulder. Alright, alright, that was fair. He laughs.

“Guess I'm a freak no matter what timeline, huh?”

Paradox just shrinks into himself. Maybe it wasn't good to say that.

Well, whatever. He roots around for a smaller driver, this one looking almost paper thin, and sets it aside for easier access.

The other thick bars on his arm come up, one by one. He tries not to think about it.

The voice pipes up again when he goes to pick up the thin driver. “The other me makes his dynamos do everything for him. You do everything with your own hands.”

“Does he, now?” He scoffs. “Lazy ass, then.”

“He is.”

Dooms laugh this time is unbound. “You agree?” 

“He's a lazy ass. He's kind of nice, but he is.”

Doom can hardly handle it. His tone is always so empty, everything that comes out of his mouth sounds dead serious. “God, am I glad I'm not him then.”

“He knows how to cook. You don't.”

Doom rolls his eyes. “Who cares.” The driver disappears into his arm, twisting away at something miniscule, and Doom lapses into a state of hyperfocus. 

Paradox decides to explore the workshop after hanging above Dooms head bears no results. There's… nothing to see he hasn't already, not truly, but he snoops anyway.

It's a wreck. Dooms (obnoxious) jacket is thrown over a towering file cabinet holding god-knows-what. General tools are shoved into buckets, or boxes, jutting out at odd angles and some even jammed together.  _ Dominator is so much more organized than this… _ Paradox thinks to himself.

This is boring.

His head appears through the wall above Dooms bench, and Doom shrieks before he can start his sentence. Rude. 

“Don't do that, asshole. I'm working with delicate stuff here.” 

“I don't care. Was it bloody when you put that machinery in?”

Doom needs a moment. 

“Not… really? I guess, a little. Why do you care?” 

“I want to know. It was bloody when I put this,” he gestures to his chest, or rather the cavity within it, “in.” 

Doom doesn't think about that, either. “Great. I don't wanna hear about it.”

“Being afraid of blood is pointless.”

“Fantastic insight, little prick! I'm aware, and I'm not!” 

“Whatever makes you sleep better at night.”

“I'll deck you.”

“Try it.” 

Doom weighs his chances, his fist, too, and remembers his arm split open on the table and decides against it.

“I definitely could.”

“I’m sure that’s true in your precious little head.”

Doom growls, and for once decides not to act on the annoyance bubbling in his throat. 

At some point, Paradox disappears. He’s not sure whenーhe probably got sucked into the wiring and forgot about his surroundings again. It doesn’t really matter to him, given how Paradox seems to always come back. The same thought that always seems to haunt him when Paradox leaves comes back, howeverーit’s always strange not knowing if he  _ will _ come back. It wasn’t like he had a way of contacting him, he was… God, he was himself from another timeline or some shit. That, and he decided to just drop in whenever the hell he felt like it, for however long he felt like, with  _ absolutely no warning at all _ . Needless to say, he never felt the need to make it clear if he was ever coming back, or if he was, when. 

He sure didn’t  _ miss _ the little bastard, but he couldn’t shake what an abnormal feeling it was having someone be a part of your life and never knowing when or if you’ll see them again every time they leave.

He snaps the bars on his arm closed, checks for gaps or anything loose. Everything checks out fine, and he sighs, stretches and nearly blacks out onto his desk. (geez, he’s got to stop doing that.)

It didn’t matter anyway. He cracks his knuckles and decides to finish the rest of the cookies he stashed before his other self comes back and steals the rest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once upon a time, before i saw his 3rd job advancement cutscene, i "entertained" the idea of dominator creating grace as part of his “perfect virtual world.” then i watched it and realized ‘oh, shit, he moved on actually’ and scrapped it all.  
> this is kind of a result of that, and me going “hm. i wonder if he won’t do that for himself he’d do it for mp” which he probably wouldn’t but will that stop me? this exists so the answer is no  
> 

Paradox watches his counterpart in silence for a moment. Was it perverse to take an odd fascination in observing people when they thought they were alone? It didn’t matter to him, and no one knew about it in any case.

Either way, no matter how fascinating it was, it was boring. His counterpart usually had something interesting for him to mess with, it was worth a shot.

“You're open.”

Dom startles, then softens when he sees Paradox. “I suppose I am now. Hello, Paradox.”

“Hello.” Paras eyes seem especially big, now, staring down at his counterpart.

“Was there something you needed?” Dom asks.

“No. I just wanted to be here.”

“Mm. I suppose that's fine. Don't bother me, though, I'm working on something very important.”

Paradox frowns, nose scrunching up and only further accentuating his round face. This other self treats him more like a child. ... _ Sometimes _ it's alright, but other timesーlike nowーit irritates him.

“Tell me what it is.”

Dom chuckles. “Insistent as always. Well, it's…” he waves his hand in circles by the side of his head, as if thinking, “virtual reality. Of sorts.” He gains that ever annoying ‘I know something you don't’ tone of voice. “Do you want to see it?” 

“Show it to me.”

Dom nods. “Follow me.” 

Dominator leads him into a decently sized space off of his lab. This was new, but it hadn't been added to the building, just cleared out… What did he need such a large dedicated space for? And entirely empty, at that...

“Close your eyes.” Dom says.

“No.”

Dom grimaces and rolls his eyes. “Alright, fine, but don't blame me if it ruins the magic.”

His dynamos swirl around him, following each other in a perfect line as they form a circle spanning the empty space. The thin lines sought through them glow, brighter and brighter until they split open, a jagged, mechanical motion they all execute in unison. 

A wall appears around them. It looks like the same type of hologram Dom uses for his keyboards, that kind of thing.

A landscape appears before them, and Paras eyes go wide. The ground beneath their feet turns grassy and soft, and the walls formed by the dynamos looks as if nonexistent now, giving way in favor of a lush expanse of green and a clear sky, seemingly infinite. A large tree thrives in the distance. So this was what his counterpart worked on so tirelessly? At the very least, it was an impressive show of skill.

“This part… is something I have worked on for countless ages. I'm particularly excited to show you.” Dom says, and his voice sounds odd in a way Paradox can't name. “I implore you to close your eyes now.”

Paradox shakes his head. “No.”

Dominator sighs, then, “...Please?” 

Wow, please? He was truly desperate, then. “Fine.” Paradox lets his eyes fall closed, and he hears the sound of something shimmering. 

“Don't open them until I say.” Dom instructs, and Paradox grumbles. He doesn't like being told what to do. This had better be  _ spectacular _ .

“Hello,” He hears Dominator whisper. “Are you ready?” What is he talking about? More importantly, who is he talking to? No one else was with them.

“Open your eyes now.” 

Paradox does, and feels his heart drop.

A woman with long, white hair and a gentle face stands in front of him, smiling. Her clothes and aura make her seem almost angelic. Her shoulders rise as she smiles even wider, and says, “Hello, Add.” 

Paradox, suddenly, cannot breathe. His arms fall limp at his sides and he's fairly certain he looks like an idiot but  _ oh god, he can't breathe. _

“How is it?” Dominator asks, seeming satisfied.

It takes a long moment for Paradox to remember how to speak. “That's…” 

The woman kneels down in front of Paradox, taking his hand in hers. “Your hair is all a mess... “ A light, tinkling laugh. “Do you need me around to take care of it, even now? It's alright, I will. It's always made me happy to care for you.”

Paradox feels a foreign feeling set alight in his chest, in his throat. He doesn't like it. He  _ hates _ it. He wants it to stop.

“That's… not… mom.” He mumbles.

“Hm? Ah, no, it's not, but…”

“That's…  _ NOT _ mom!” Paras voice suddenly raises higher than Dom has ever heard it go, and he tears his hand out of not-Graces. Her face remains unchanging, unfazed by his outburst. 

“...I see. It's not good enough, thenー”

“ _ That's not mom _ ! How dare you! How  _ DARE _ youー” Paradox feels rage seething through his chest, up to his face, bringing hot, angry tears to his eyes. “How  _ COULD _ you? You'd disrespect her like that? You'd ever think some fucking  _ HOLOGRAM _ could  _ EVER _ replace her?” This wasn't good for him, he feels his emotions causing him to lose his focus, lose his grip on realityーhe didn't care. He didn't care, he didn't care, he didn't  _ care _ .

Dominator throws his hands up, and the simulation dissipates, leaving them back in the empty room they started in. Paradox faintly registers not-Graces face melting into pixels and light, smile never fading in the slightest through it all.  _ Too much. _ “It wasn't meant to  _ replace _ ー”

“ _ Bullshit _ !” Paradox cries. “What else could it be? What other purpose could  _ that _ have?! Stop trying to lie to me! I’m not fucking stupid!” 

“Calm down. It was just a simulation, nothing more. It could never replace her, and it never would. I just wanted to experimentー”

“ _ Exー _ She’s not yours to experiment on! Is that what everything is to you? Something for you to screw around with like some kind of lab rat?” 

Dominator snarls. “Where did you get that idea from? I’ve never insinuated anything of the sort. Maybe you should stop making things up, the time-traveling might be affecting you worse than you’re aware.” 

Of _ course _ he was being snarky, even now. Even now, even now, after something like that. Paradox can feel his body fighting him, losing his cool  _ and _ the thin web of will keeping himself together. He didn’t let his emotions run from him like this, not usually, but this wasn’t normal, and more importantly, this was  _ unforgivable _ .

“Fuck off.” Paradox mutters, trying one last time to compose himself before his body decides for him. 

Dominator shrugs. “I tried to do something nice for you. It’s your own fault you can’t handle it. I’ve tried to help you move on from her, but you won’t liー”

“ _ FUCK OFF _ !” Paradox shrieks, flying for Dominators throat. His eyes go wide seeing Paras form change, twisted and messy the same way the man himself is. He barely registers long, mangy hair and sharp teeth before his back hits the ground and the air is knocked out of his lungs. 

“I thought you knew anything. I thought you understood, I thought you knew anything at  _ ALL _ about how I felt.” His tone lilts up at the end, trailing into near hysterical laughter. Dominators gaze frantically flits around the room, attempting to order his dynamos to assist him. 

Paradox rips Doms earpiece out and can hardly hear it when the man beneath him screams. He goes the extra mile and brings clawed hands down on the fallen batteries on Dominators sides. A loud clattering is heard as the dynamos fall. 

“Don't try that. I hate you. I fucking  _ HATE _ you. I can't believe I ever thought you'd get it.” 

Dom can see more of the blinding ‘glitch’ of Paras body, now. This close to him, it almost burns. His hair floats impossibly behind him. He grins, and sharp teeth flash and send fear shooting down Doms spine. He's pinned, and there's not much he can do about it. Piling onto that fear like painful rocks was barely being able to breathe, or hearーthe angry voice above him was muffled, as if they were underwater, and the ringing, god, the ringing... Even if he did try to respond, it would only come out a broken wheeze.

“I should kill you. I should kill you for hurting her.” Paradox mutters, then laughs. “Was that some kind of sick fucking joke? Do you enjoy tormenting meーbastardizing  _ her _ ?” Claws dig into Doms shoulder. He's sure he's bleeding, but not enough to seep through his jackets. He can, however, certainly feel blood trickling from his ears from his earpiece being torn out. Mother _ fucker _ .

“Were you _ trying _ to piss me off? Be honest or I’ll tear your throat out. We  _ both _ know I’m not screwing around.” Paradox glares down at him, rows of deadly teeth grit hard.

Dominator blearily grasps at Paras hands at his shoulders, knowing he couldn’t shove the flickering mass of ‘man’ off of him if he tried, but figuring he’d be damned if he didn’t at least struggle. It goes about as well as he expected it to, and he winces when Paradox expectedly retaliates.

“Can you not even speak? Can you not even own up to what you’ve done?” He cackles lowly, looking as if he were staring down his prey at Dominator. “Did I hit you that hard? Are you  _ that _ weak? I thought you were better than that…” His expression shifts to a twisted mix of amusement-turned-disgust. “The version of myself in this timeline is pathetic too. I should’ve known, shouldn’t I?” The claws dig even further into Dominators flesh, now, and all he can manage is a pained rasp.

Paradox suddenly jerks himself up from the ground, taking Dominator with him, only to throw him back to the ground once he’s risen. Dominator grabs at his chest, coughing. His attempt at rising to his feet, or even just sitting up, fails miserably. 

“It won’t do any good to kill you, will it?” His gaze is back to being empty, as it usually was, butーbut his eyes were so wide and wild, they didn’t seem to belong on such a hard face as he was making now. It hardly moves as he says, “I’ve seen enough dead versions of myself. I’ll leave you to your miserable false world. You can rot there alone. Howeverー”

His body distorts, and seems to flash back to that of a child when Dominator blinks. No, that’s not right. “I want you to etch it into your entitled brain that if I’m ever unfortunate enough to cross into this timeline again, I won’t care anymore about needless death.”

Paradox is blindingly bright, and Dominators head throbs from the flash and the beating against the floor. When he opens his eyes again, there’s nothing there but a ragged scar upon the ground where he had been, and a clear mark of his damage evident in Dominators appearance.

His glove comes back bloody when he presses his fingers to his collar. He’ll have to repair his dynamos’ batteries, but before then, find some kind of medical care since they’re unavailable to take care of it for him… How bothersome. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i'm back with more of this nonsense. i really don't know this time but this takes place well before the 2nd chapter

He watches as his double stumbles back. A moment too slow.

He watches as his double is impaled. A moment too late.

He watches as his double slides limply off of the great stinger of whatever beast it was this time and onto the ground with a _thud._

He leaves.

The first time, it had made him so sick he vomited. And the second, and the third. He doesn’t actually remember how many. He kept getting sick for years. There was a time where the sight made him feel grateful for the life he had nowーor at least, the fact that he still had it. Only a madman would be grateful for this ‘life.’

Although, he was one, wasn’t he?

Now, he only felt scorn for his alternate selves. For slipping up. For being too weak to survive. He figured, in that moment, he must be strong, himself. For surviving when so many others couldn’t. But that was stupid, wasn’t it?

He had seen alternate selves that were happy. That had found companionship, that had found love and home. They must be the strong ones of himself, if they could manage that somehow, with his horrible personality. He supposes, then, that the versions of the El Search Party in his original reality (and which one even was that, anymore?) were weak, by that logic. The angel, who had gone from a trembling, shaken mess to simply _gone_. The former captain, who had lost herself to bloodlust. All of them. He had seen realities where all of them somehow managed to stay together, and realities where they were at each other’s throats.

None of it mattered, though, in the endーwhether they were strong or weak. They were alive. He drags his heavy body to a stand and opens another portal. He watches his hand crackle and break into pieces for a moment. He blinks.

When he slips through the fold in space-time, he sees another alternate self. The same one as he had just seen killed, in fact. He recognized this one as his younger self. The one called “ _Time Tracer_.”

He waits, for just a moment. He always finds a tiny bit of amusement in waiting for his doubles to notice him. It doesn’t take long this time, however, as this particular version of himself always had been terribly paranoid. He notices the first noise of the mans steps on the ground behind him and whips around.

“Whoー” he starts, then chokes on his words like gravel.

“You.” states Paradox, as plainly as could be.

The double seems about to faint. He actually does wobble and fall backwards. Then, quickly, as if he’s realized what must be happening, he laughs into his hand.

“Right. Right. Is it time travel?”

“Of course it is. Get with the program.” says Paradox, amused at the offended look Time Tracer gains.

“Why do you… look like that?”

Ah, right. He forgets, sometimes, that chunks of his body are fading. Well, whatever. “Is that really your business?”

“YーYou’re _me_! Is it _not_?!” cries the Tracer. Paradox laughs.

“Of course not. I’m me. It’s my business, and mine alone.” That, and… the thought of talking to his past selfーof giving him any indication of what would happen to him should he keep following this path, should he work himself into this state he was in nowーit terrified him, a bit. He had no idea what would happen, despite knowing as much about space-time travel as he did. (which really wasn’t that much. it was a lot of throwing things at walls and hoping they stuck.)

The Tracer in front of him growls. “Then, why are you here?”

...Why _was_ he here? He wasn’t even sure why he had bothered to stop and pester this version of himself. Was it some kind of nostalgia? A longing to revisit times where he wasn’t falling apart?

“That’s my own business, as well.” At least the way his double got increasingly infuriated with him was entertaining.

Actually, he gets _so_ infuriated that he storms off. Saying something about “If you’re not going to help me any, then why even bother?”

And he raised a good point. But then, when had Paradox ever tried to help _anyone_? (save for himself.) He chuckles. He also found it amusing how easily his double gave up this chance he’d been given.

So he leaves this reality as well, and decides he’s had enough backtalk for today. Maybe he would visit Dominator. That was what the self-proclaimed title of the refined, surviving version of himself.

And he does, and when he gets there, Dominator startles and his Dynamos clatter to the ground at the sound of Paradox stepping to the ground in his office.

“Do you have anything interesting this time?”

Dominator laughs, uneasy. “Not one much for introductions, are you?”

“You already know me. I don't need to.”

He laughs again. “I suppose you have a point. In any caseー” Dominator waves his hand, and more screens appear, along with his Dynamos recollecting. Paradox makes his way over to where he was standing. “I might have something to show you.”

Paradox doesn't respond. Instead, he rests himself over the top of Dominator’s good chair, perched like a limp cat over it with his cheeks in his hands. He hopes it’s something actually good this time.

“Have you met Apocalypse yet?”

“Apocalypse.” Paradox repeats, wondering what kind of new contraption could be named such a thing.

“Yes. I’m assuming from that reaction that you haven’t.” Dominator’s smile is smug as always. Paradox glares.

Dominator flicks his fingers, and his Dynamos gather together to form a cube. It meows.

Wait, meows?

“Why did it make that noise?” asks Paradox. Dominator chuckles.

“Isn’t it cute?” he says, then absently pushes something on something else, Paradox can’t be bothered to pay attention, and the Dynamos shift again. This time, it actually looks like a cat. (he didn’t answer his question, but paradox didn’t care enough to bother him about it now.)

“There, is that any better?” he asks. Paradox stares.

‘...This was what my double has been doing with his time?’ is his thought as he idly reaches out to scratch Apocalypses ‘chin.’ Dominator laughs again.

“So that’s a yes, then?”

Paradox finds that he suddenly can’t answer. He supposes… he did like this ‘Apocalypse,’ a bit. It was… cute. He liked cats. Simple and pretty.

Dominator sighs, leans his cheek on his hand. “You’re awfully quiet today. Well, quieter than usual.” he adds. “Did something happen?”

Paradox looks over to him, and he guesses he must have been glaring, because Dominator puts his hands up defensively. “Alright, I’m sorry. Won’t ask.”

He does, however, after a while of leaving Paradox to messing with Apocalypse, reach over and ruffle his hair.

Both of them end up shocked by this.

Paradox, however, does nothing to indicate such, other than glare intensely at him. Dominator frantically jerks away from him as if shocked. He clears his throat loudly into his fist. “Iーer. I don’t know why I did thatー”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Maybe not to _you_ , butー” he sighs, running his hand over his face and into his hair. “You can… talk to me, you know.”

Paradox sneers at him. Dominator clears his throat again. He must be embarrassed. “ _Listen_ ーit’s just becauseーyou’re  _me_ , you know?”

Of course he knows. He knows better than Dominator could ever understand. Really, it’s kind of insulting. But he knows there’s no way Dominator could be aware, no matter how much research he does, so this time he lets it go.

“...I don’t want to talk.”

“I figured as much.” Dominator chuckles. “Just… keep it in mind, alright?”

Paradox nods. Dominator seems satisfied with that, and tells him he can do whatever he wants while he’s here, as long as he stays out of trouble. (he doesn’t know how much he appreciates being treated like a toddler again.)  Eventually, he forgets why he came here, and leaves without a word.

He wonders absentmindedly if he’ll ever find that double dead in front of him like the others. If any of the other doubles would offer him a shoulder to cry on like that.

It quickly fades, like most of his thoughts do, by the time he steps through a new portal.


End file.
